Twist of Cain
by Koneko Cain
Summary: Let's see how well you concentrate on your precious duel while I tear your friends limb from limb. The pretty thief I'll save for later, so which of you wants to be first? Shonen ai.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine. Has anyone _ever_ been sued for not writing one of these?

Warnings: Gore, horror, character deaths (may or may not be permanent), angst, some stuff later on that's not for delicate people. Depends how well I can write it, really. I'm new-ish at horror. Also, slight crossover with the movie, because you-know-who's in it. You don't have to have seen it, just know who the main bad guy in it was.

Note: Heavy metal made me do it. I've only ever written one horror fic and it was so awful it's not even up any more, so it's about time I had another go. It's really horror mixed with angst, though. I like gore! You were warned!

Couples – Seto/Bakura, Marik/Ryou, Malik/Otogi, Yami/Yugi.

Twist of Cain

Part 1 – Reckoning Day

"Fuck you. _Fuck you!_" Bakura screamed in rage into the cellphone Seto had given him, throwing it across the room with such force that it hit the far wall and exploded into pieces. Marik watched his friend hiss through clenched teeth and look away from the broken cell angrily, his crimson eyes dark with hurt he'd never admit to anyone.

"What'd he do? Never seen you this pissed at him before." Marik asked, walking across his basement room to where Bakura stood against the counter of the small bar, seething.

"Ignored me for weeks. Chose his work over me. Attempted to ply me with gifts, as though I care for his trinkets!" The smaller yami growled, and Marik could see how upset Bakura was beneath the mask of anger he wore. Bakura was a hard person to read, but Marik had known him as long as he'd existed. He was the person the thief had taken shelter with after his latest fight with Seto Kaiba, after all.

"What's going on? I heard a bang, what've you two broken this time?" Ryou asked, the light seeming to follow him down the stairs into the gloomy basement. Marik sauntered over to the bottom of the stairs and took the angelic hikari in his tanned arms, smiling when Ryou laughed lightly. Bakura just looked away, still trying to get his rage under control and hating that Seto Kaiba could hurt him so easily.

"'Kura broke his cellphone. He's fighting with Kaiba." Marik explained, burying his face in Ryou's soft hair and nuzzling the side of his neck lovingly. He practically worshipped his delicate little lover – he knew he'd do anything for Ryou. All Ryou ever asked for was the occasionally back rub and for him to keep an eye on Bakura, though, which he would have done anyway.

"Are you alright, yami?" The hikari asked gently, looking over at where Bakura was staring angrily across at the remains of his cellphone.

"I am fine." Bakura hissed, turning and looking away again, towards the side of the room. "I will not let that _mortal_ treat me –" Bakura froze suddenly, his eyes wide. Ryou pulled back from Marik, who had also tensed against him.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong? Marik?" Ryou gasped when Marik pulled him against his chest and held him tightly.

"Stay still. Close your eyes and stay still, angel." Marik whispered urgently, feeling a familiar sickening tug at the edges of his soul. Bakura gripped the edge of the bar with white knuckles, snarling as he tried to resist the power pulling him out into the realm of shadows. He knew the feeling as well as Marik did and looked around for anything that could be causing it, seeing nothing but purple and black shadows seeping up through the floor, making inky pools on the ground. They spread and joined together, slowly covering the entire floor and flowing down the stairs Ryou and Marik stood below. Bakura watched the two of them run out of places to stand and saw Ryou cling tightly to Marik as the shadows flowed up and covered them, the yami trying to shield Ryou as best he could. An instant later they were gone, and Bakura staggered back into the last patch of floor he could stand on without touching any of the thick, ink-like darkness. The circle of safe ground he stood on slowly got smaller and smaller, giving him nowhere else to go. Coldness bit into him like a knife as the blackness finally reached him and swarmed up his legs like water, barely giving him time to take a breath before it filled his mouth, eyes, nose and ears. He choked and tried to claw at it, but the thick shadows dragged him down and as it covered him completely his mind slipped into darkness as well.

XxXxX

Yami Yugi opened his eyes and instantly remembered the feeling of blackness crawling over his body and into his mouth, like a million spiders skittering across his skin. He sat up and cried out in shock, eyes wide, and looked down at himself.

The shadows were no longer covering him, just his usual leather and buckled combination of clothes. He knew what the feeling had been – someone or something had dragged him into the Shadow Realm, probably for another shadow game. It had happened many times before, but one never got used to a feeling like that.

Looking around himself as he stood up shakily, Yami felt his blood run cold as he took note of the people slowly waking up on the shining black floor around him. They looked to be in some kind of black marble hall, huge columns of white-veined rock holding up the ceiling that was lost in writhing shadows far above them. The walls of the room were also lost in shadow – too far away to be seen through the fog of purple and black that hung ominously over everything.

"Yugi? Are you alright?" Yami asked, crouching down next to his newly awakened hikari, who was looking around in fear and awe. Around him were the people he'd been with when he'd been sucked into the shadows – Anzu, Jounouchi, Malik and Otogi. A little to one side and steadying himself against one of the dark pillars of marble stood the tall figure of Seto Kaiba, his younger brother Mokuba sitting dazedly on the floor at his feet. To Yami's surprise, another group were pulling themselves up nearby as well – the thief Bakura, his hikari and the tomb keeper's darkness Marik.

"I'm ok, what's going on?" Yugi asked, looking up at his darkness with large, innocent eyes. "Is someone challenging you again?"

"I assume so," Yami replied, then leant a hand to Yugi to help him up. "I'll find out soon enough."

The frown on Yami's face was determined as he strode over to the two people he suspected were behind their unannounced trip to the Shadow Realm, looking every bit the pharaoh he had been.

"Explain yourselves." He demanded, glaring in particular at Bakura, his most ancient adversary and a person he knew only a fool would trust.

"What? You think _we_ did this? Why the hell would we send ourselves to the Shadow Realm? If I wanted to play a shadow game with you I'd wait until I won and _then_ send your self-righteous ass to hell!" Marik growled, angry at being accused so quickly. Ryou gently laid a hand on his chest and looked at Yami, his large, brown eyes incapable of deception.

"Marik and my yami had nothing to do with this, really. We were just trying to cheer Bakura up after his fight with Kaiba." Ryou said softly. At the mention of his name Seto looked over, trying to catch Bakura's eye, but the ghost-like thief refused to look at him and stared down at the smooth marble floor angrily.

"Is this true, thief?" Yami frowned, folding his arms. Bakura raised his head and hissed like a viper, narrowing his wicked eyes.

"I do not appreciate being drawn into your battles, _pharaoh_." The tomb robber growled, glaring at Yami with murderous crimson eyes. Used to being so utterly hated by Bakura, Yami gave him a glare back and turned, heading back over to where Yugi was now standing with Jounouchi and Anzu.

"So… nobody knows why we're here?" Jou asked, looking around nervously because if there was one thing he hated, it was getting sent to places like this. Anzu was frowning in disapproval of the entire situation, wishing she'd bought her pepperspray with her.

"I know why you're here." A new voice piped up without warning, and Mokuba looked up at his big brother in shock when he realised who it belonged to. The sharp, sour edge to it was easily recognizable, even if the voice had gotten a little deeper.

"Noa." Seto said coldly, striding forward with his white coat sweeping behind him until he stood in the middle of the scattered groups. Out of the shadows in front of him emerged the mint-haired figure of his adoptive brother, although no longer a child. Noa now stood just as tall as Seto, a twisted smirk on his face. He had the same lean, slender frame as Seto but was paler, dark shadows under his blank, computerized eyes.

"Seto. How have we been? Still living my life?" Noa asked with venom, another figure striding regally out of the inky blackness behind him. A chorus of gasps went up and Seto snarled, eyes narrowing.

"You." He hissed, pulling Mokuba behind him. Marik, Ryou and Bakura joined Malik and Otogi, knowing who the new enemy was immediately from what Yugi had told them. Bakura had seen him before briefly, and Anubis turned to him with a sinister smile.

"A familiar face, though much improved. How long it has been, tomb robber." Anubis sneered, standing behind Noa and towering over him. Bakura gave a low growl in his throat, letting it die when Marik put a hand on his shoulder. Anubis just laughed and turned to Yami instead, letting Noa explain their situation.

"You want to know why you're here? You're here to _die_. Allow me to expand upon how very doomed you are. I am dead, as you know. But, death could be construed as a blessing, from my point of view. As a spirit housed in a machine, is there any greater power than mine? At my disposal I have both the knowledge of the most advanced computer in the world and the magic of the realm of the dead. Your Sennen trinkets are toys in comparison, and with Anubis at my side you stand no hope of leaving here alive." Noa claimed. "You will play a Shadow Game with me – although the word _game_ hardly does it justice. Whichever of you dies here will die in reality if I win, keep that in mind as I tear your friends limb from limb." He laughed.

"I will always defeat you, both of you. I have done it before, I will do it again." Yami said proudly, taking out his deck and shuffling it with as much calm as he could portray to his enemies.

"Oh, I'm sure you would. If we were not working together. And, did you not have to work with Seto. And let us not forget, if you did not have the distractions I am planning on giving you." Noa's twisted smile promised cruelty, and Yami glanced over at Seto, who simply nodded once and drew out his own cards.

"Nothing you could do will distract me from winning this duel. There are people I love at stake, this time your punishment will be permanent." Yami threatened, Seto coming to stand beside him silently as Mokuba ran to join Yugi, Anzu and Jounouchi. The CEO's eyes flickered over to Bakura for an instant once he'd made sure Mokuba was safe, but the thief looked away angrily.

"Then, let us begin. You will both be duelling me." Noa clicked his fingers and a duelling board drew itself into the ground, forming from the white veins in the marble. Old-style duelling disks appeared on their arms and Yami frowned, looking over at Anubis.

"What about him?" He demanded, having expected Anubis to be duelling as well. Noa gave a sickening laugh and drew his first cards, his dead eyes sweeping over to where his counterpart was stalking towards the others.

"He will be…distracting you. As I said, we shall see how long you can keep your minds on the duel."

With that, Noa set his first few cards and watched with an amused expression and Yami and Seto drew theirs.

"I end my turn." The computerized soul grinned darkly.

XxXxX

Anubis looked between the two groups of _distractions_ with a bloodthirsty smile. He watched them all merge together, the tomb robber he remembered from so long ago placing himself in front of the Kaiba child and the pharaoh's light holding the girl's hand, trying to look as brave as he could. It made the sorcerer laugh, how little idea they had of what was coming.

"Which of you would like to die first?" Anubis asked casually, looking into each of their faces. The tomb robber and the other darkness snarled at him, but he decided he would save them for later. Especially the thief – such a treat should be savoured, his pain would be spectacular. Best to start with the minor annoyances, such as the one glaring hotly at him from in front of the pharaoh's light.

"Watch carefully, little ones. This will be a quick death. I would not want him to suffer, after all." The sorcerer laughed horribly, then before anyone could figure out who he meant the huge figure had darted forward and swung his fist down. Shadows swirled around it and his eyes glowed black, forcing power into the blow. Jounouchi threw Yugi back against Anzu and knew he couldn't get out of the way of something that fast, even with his experience in street gangs. Anubis' fist hit him in the chest with inhuman power, not even stopping. Any noise he'd been planning on making became a bloody gurgle and he was dead before he'd finished it, ribs shattered and crushed into his chest. Anubis smiled at the horror in the faces of his audience, letting Jounouchi crumple to the floor without a sound and watching the thick blood drip from his fist as he opened it.

"One down, children." The sorcerer whispered, licking the blood from the side of one finger as the rest of his playthings clung to each other or slid to their knees in disbelief. Looking over at Noa, he smiled and continued to lick off the blood, enjoying the tears overflowing from the pharaoh's wide eyes and the look of utter shock even Seto Kaiba couldn't hide.

This, he decided, was his kind of game.

TBC

No flames, you were warned! If you came into a horror fic and didn't expect to find any horror in here, shame on you. Who's going to bite it next and how're they going to go? And if you think I'm cruel to Jounouchi, I'll give you a spoiler! That was possibly the least disturbing death, in my opinion. Yay for gory deaths!


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I'm not bashing Anzu for once. I thought she deserved a break, you'll see why. Also, this hasn't been proofread or anything because I'm in a rush! Forgive any mistakes, I'm having the week from hell.

Twist of Cain – 2

How the Gods Kill

/Run…_Run, Yugi/_ Yami managed, the only coherent thought he could put together to send at his light. He couldn't look down, only stare straight at the marble column across from him and try to block out the sound of Noa's sharp laughter directed at his back.

Jounouchi's body was a blur of green jacket and golden hair at the edge of his vision but he couldn't focus on it, only numbly ride out the shock. He could feel Yugi's emotions – usually, anyway, - but all he was getting now was white terror. The only thing he could think was that they all had to run away, before Anubis stopped whatever he was doing to Jou's body and went after someone else.

Next to Yami, Seto also stood frozen in disbelief. Unlike Yami, his own eyes were fixed on Jounouchi, crumpled on the floor in a spreading pool of blood. Anubis was also covered with blood, dripping from his hands and smeared around his wide, thin lips. Seto knew somewhere in the logical part of his mind that Anubis was eating something – even from so far across the endless hall. It made him sick, and he couldn't stop wondering when Jounouchi's body was going to vanish, just like always. Whenever something like this had happened before and someone was…eliminated… they always disappeared. He couldn't understand why Jounouchi was just lying there, horribly still and bringing home the fact that the people he cared for were less than pawns in this game. They were prey.

He knew why Anubis was making such a show of digging around inside Jounouchi's ribcage and tearing out anything he could get his hands on – he wanted them to know that they were all just walking meat to him. There had never been any love lost between Seto and Jounouchi, but this was far, far beyond anything he'd ever wished on the blonde. His _family_ were at the mercy of a madman, who'd just shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that mercy meant nothing to him. He had to play a _game_ while they were being killed – Mokuba was just a child. And Bakura… Anubis _wanted_ Bakura, a fool could see that. It was not a good kind of desire.

The first one to even move – more than a minute after Jounouchi hit the floor – was Anzu. Anubis met her eyes and smiled at her awfully, looking as though he'd washed his face in their friend's blood. She had Yugi held protectively against her, feeling him shaking, and the plan of action was perfectly clear in her mind. _She_ kept Yugi safe, Marik and Bakura took care of the others and Yami won the duel with Kaiba's help. Jou would be fine when they got back and nobody else would get hurt, Yami would be counting on her to look after Yugi, and that was what she did best. Picking herself up from her knees and dragging Yugi's small form up with her, she took his hand firmly and looked down at him.

"It's not real, Yugi. We have to run now, we can't distract Yami."

Her words were strong and commanding, the shaking in the very core of her soul not reaching her voice or her eyes as the instinctive protectiveness of Yugi took over. She could do that on autopilot, so with a final glance towards the others she let all thinking fade into the background and just _ran_, dragging Yugi with her into the black mist.

Marik saw her sprint off and decided that for once the girl had the right idea. Grabbing Ryou with one hand and Malik with the other, he gave Bakura a pointed look. The thief got the message and picked up the sobbing Mokuba, leaving Otogi to run next to them as they raced off in the other direction. Anubis just slowly raised himself to his feet like a lion and grinned, blood staining his sharp teeth. This would draw it out well as a distraction for the duel, and what was prey without the satisfaction of chasing it down?

XxXxX

"You… You soulless-!" Yami spat, even his ancient mind having no words fit to portray Noa and Anubis.

"Now, now, let's not resort to name-calling." Noa sneered, then turned to Anubis. "Enjoy yourself, we'll be watching. I'm sure you'll give us a good show."

Anubis nodded once as two enormous screens flickered into place, hovering to one side of the duelling area. The sorcerer let his deadly red eyes slide half closed and a snake-like smile flickered across his bloody lips as images of his fleeing prey came to life on the screens.

"It would be my pleasure." Anubis hissed, then began to stalk off in the direction Anzu had dragged Yugi. As he passed the edge of the arena he paused, still smiling.

"Pharaoh," he purred, "should I make your light's death quick, or would you rather I drew it out for your viewing pleasure?"

"_If you touch him I swear Ra himself will not be able to save you from what I will do!"_ Yami snarled, eyes glowing with rage. He wanted to run over and just _hurt_ Anubis in the worst, most awful way he could think of. But, he'd been in similar situations to this enough times before to know that should he step outside the boundaries of the duelling arena, Jounouchi would never wake up again.

Anubis just smirked and switched his predatory gaze to Seto, who stared him down coldly.

"I would tell you of what I will do to your brother, but there is another I am far more interested in. I have seen the way you look upon him – my beautiful thief. His will be a glorious death, be assured that I shall savour his agony." Anubis promised, laughing at Seto's dangerously low growl before continuing off into the dark haze between the marble pillars.

XxXxX

As her mind attempted to reboot itself, Anzu realised that there was no end to the dark hall they were running through. Marik had led the others away in a different direction, but she knew from the look he'd given her that she was next on Anubis' list. Common sense dictated that he would know his own hunting ground well enough to be able to catch up easily, and there was nowhere to hide. The only difference between the place they were and the place they'd come from was that now there were small, dark pools of what looked like oil in the marble floor. Other than that everything was dark and silent, only their harsh breathing echoing from the endless forest of pillars, and sickly patches of light struggling to penetrate the swirling blanket of black and purple fog above.

Pulling Yugi to a halt against one of the perfectly smooth, veined pillars, Anzu took a few moments to catch her breath, gathering the remains of her courage. She knelt down so that she could look up a little into Yugi's huge, tear-filled eyes, then gave him a small smile and wiped the tears from his cheeks, taking comfort in comforting him.

"It's lucky I have a plan, isn't it? I don't know what you boys would do without me around." She forced another smile and Yugi seemed to wake up a little, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering.

"What're we going to do?" He asked in a shadow of his usual, cheerful voice. He could feel Yami's determination to win and the endless stream of strategies constantly flickering through the game king's mind, just seeing them made him want to help in any way he could.

Anzu closed her eyes and kept her smile in place, raising a finger like a teacher speaking to a child.

"You're going to have to do something real hard, Yugi, but I've seen how brave you can be lots of times before and I know you can do it." She told him, waiting for him to nod before she continued. "Great! Ok, what I need you to do is run over to the right a little so you don't run into Anubis, then double back the way we just came, alright? When you get to where Yami is carry on going and you should run into everyone else. Can you do that for me?"

Yugi frowned, looking at her in confusion.

"Why? What about you?" He asked as she stood up and brushed her skirt off.

"Ah, well that's the best part – I'll keep running this way and lead him as far away from the others as I can. I can run _way_ faster than that evil creep, so you can tell everyone else to keep going the way they're going. You should get far enough away that Yami'll win and we'll all get home before he can catch any of us." She explained, giving him a little push in the right direction. She didn't want him to think about it, just start running.

"But-but are you going to be ok?" Can you really run faster than him?" Yugi hesitated, desperate for any type of plan but not wanting to leave Anzu to be a decoy.

"You bet! I'll be a lot quicker on my own, so don't worry about me! Just remember, you have to get to the others and tell them which way Anubis is headed. I know you can do it, Yugi!" She gave him a quick hug from behind, relieved when he finally seemed to accept her plan.

"Ok, I promise I'll tell them. Please be careful, Anzu!" Yugi begged, turning back and waving to her as he jogged off into the mist.

XxXxX

Anzu waited until she was certain Yugi was gone before she slid to her knees, trembling. She'd been praying that Yugi would forget one crucial fact – the shadow realm was circular. Run far enough in one direction and you'd end up right back where you started – the only way she could buy time for Yugi was to send him back towards the arena. Bakura and Marik were both well-versed enough in the rules of the shadow realm that they'd know this and stop, hopefully giving Yugi a chance to catch up with them. She knew Anubis was coming, and if she carried on running forward she'd eventually run into Marik and Bakura's group. Then he'd catch them all though, and she knew he was only chasing _her_ for the moment. She couldn't run faster than Anubis. She hated lying to Yugi, but she wasn't going to lead the sorcerer anywhere – she'd only end up leading him straight to everyone else. It was absolutely terrifying to know that what had happened to Jounouchi was about to happen to her – even worse to know that she was facing death alone. Friendship meant a lot to her, that was why she had to do this on her own. She couldn't let Yugi see her die, it was bad enough that he'd had to see Jounouchi.

The trembling sending her into a cold sweat of fear intensified at the faint sound of footsteps on marble, slow and even, coming from far behind her. Annoyed at herself she stood up, back to one of the pillars, and tried to cover her terror over with rage. If she had to die, she was at least going to die like a _woman._

"Little girl, will you not face me?" Anubis' deep, growling voice made her jump, even though she'd been expecting it. Fixing her angry frown in place, she stepped out from behind the column and glared up at the lord of the dead, standing no more than six feet away.

"I'm sorry, it's just those _veins_. I mean, are you on steroids? It's really unattractive." She said, raising her hands to her hips and giving him the look she reserved for anyone she considered a bully.

"Such strong words from such a frail creature." Anubis smirked, slowly advancing.

"Frail nothing, creep! Yami and Kaiba are going to send you packing, just like last time!" Anzu declared as he stopped upon reaching her. She took a deep breath, knowing she was going to pay for her next action, then slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could. Anubis snarled angrily and grabbed her wrist, eyes blazing with fury.

"It will be a pleasure to watch you die!" He roared, swinging her around and throwing her to the floor next to one of the black pools. Before she could spit another word at him he was knelt over her, one huge fist wrapped around her arm again.

"There is nothing to fear," he sneered, "except fear itself. That and, perhaps, an excruciatingly painful death."

That said, he gave a wicked laugh and plunged her hand into the black liquid.

It took a moment for any paint o register, but when it did she screamed like she'd never screamed before. Her mind gave up any pretence of coherent thought and just flashed red at her – the agony setting her entire body convulsing. It felt like her arm was being eaten by piranhas, and when he drew her hand out of the acid-like substance after a moment all she could do was look down at it in absolute terror and keep screaming. She wished she could just faint, she couldn't handle the thought that what she was seeing was her own hand and not a scene from a horror movie. Her fingertips were skeletal, white slivers of bone standing out on her fingers and hand, the rest just a gory, dripping mass of liquefied flesh and sinew. She couldn't take her eyes off it, even when Anubis' fist caught the front of her shirt, but she tore her gaze away to look up into his laughing eyes at the first burning sensations on the back of her head.

He was holding her over the pool by the front of her shirt, half the back of her head, neck and shoulders submerged in the dark liquid. The pain was unbearable and she couldn't move, only scream as she felt it eat through her skin. Her heart raced and hundreds of random images flashed through her mind, but it didn't take long before the acid burned too far in and her screams died in her throat. Whether it was her spinal cord or her brain that it ate through first Anubis didn't know, but he watched her panicked, tear-filled eyes slowly turn blank and mist over.

Her body twitched twice and went limp, lifeless eyes still wide and staring, and Anubis smirked. That had been a good death, her screams were still echoing faintly through the hall and he knew the other lambs would have heard her die.

"Guess who is to suffer next, my faithful audience?" He hissed, knowing that Seto and Yami would be watching on the screens.

Standing up, he casually tossed Anzu's body into the pool and watched her sink without a sound, the inky blackness covering her completely.

"Let us see who I shall find…" Anubis laughed, turning away from the jet black pool and walking off into the thick mist.

TBC

Leave me a nice review? I'm feeling sorry for myself because I just walked out of my job.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I'm trying to get back in the swing of writing, things are crazy IRL. It'd help if FFN would let me upload now that I've finally written something, but this site hates me. Meh. Anyway, more deaths and stuff. A few of 'em are gonna survive, but I'm quite enjoying doing the angsty deaths. 'Tis good for stress. I made up the card/monsters, by the way.

Twist of Cain 3 – Countdown to Extinction

Bakura followed Marik through the forest of black pillars, carrying Mokuba and listening to the haunting sounds echoing through the hall. Anzu's faint screams of pain and terror, followed by the pharaoh's horrified shouting. Everything had fallen silent then, but they kept going, into a new area where many of the pillars had broken and littered the smooth ground in uneven pieces. Finally Marik pulled them to halt next to where one pillar had fallen across another, creating a small alcove.

"Hide the kid." Marik gestured to the small, dark space – just big enough for a child.

"No!" Mokuba clung to Bakura as the thief carried him over to the alcove and knelt down beside it. He knew Marik had the right idea.

"We will not let him find you." The tomb robber promised, but Mokuba refused to let go.

"You can't leave me here – did you see what that guy did to Jou?" The younger Kaiba brother panicked, looking pleadingly up into Bakura's crimson eyes.

"He will not touch you. Your brother and I may not be together at the moment, but I will not allow harm to come to you." Bakura swore, gently prising Mokuba off himself and helping him into the hiding place.

"Promise?" Large, grey eyes begged, filled with frightened tears.

"Yes. We will not leave you, we can go no further. We will be right here until your brother and the pharaoh win the game."

Mokuba nodded, trembling, and ducked down into the hole.

"Alright, but you'd better not go anywhere!" He threatened. Bakura gave a husky laugh and stepped back, bowing his head once.

"As you command. Now be silent, if he comes this way keep your head down and do not look up, no matter what you hear. Remember, if you look up he will see you." The thief instructed, then stood up and turned back to the other yami. Truth be told, he just didn't want Mokuba to see what was probably going to happen to them. He cared enough for the younger Kaiba brother, and the events unfolding reminded him of things he'd rather forget. When he'd been a child, much like Mokuba, he'd _watched_ as his friends and family were slaughtered, hiding behind a broken wall and praying for the soldiers not to find him. He knew now that if he could go back and change the past, if only a little, he would have kept his eyes closed.

"The plan?" He demanded, folding his arms and bringing his attention back to Marik. "I will not stand and wait to die. I am not merely a _distraction._"

"You're definitely more than that," Ryou smiled weakly, his shaking abating a little because he was held protectively in Marik's tanned arms. Malik was also standing against Otogi next to them, looking shaken but trying to be as brave as they could.

"I'm not letting that bastard near our mortals." Marik growled.

"Then we fight until the game is won." Bakura said firmly, knowing it was the only choice they had.

XxXxX

"I love it when they fight back." Noa sneered, wiping out one of Yami's monsters easily while the Game King watched Yugi run on one of the screens. The other screen showed Bakura persuading Mokuba to hide, the thief's words loud and clear to Seto.

"Pay attention, unless you want to lose this." Seto told Yami coldly, ignoring the pharaoh's glare. Bakura's conversation with his younger brother remanded him why he needed to win, not just to save their lives, but also so that he had a chance to make things right with the thief. He knew he'd hurt Bakura by trying to buy him off with gifts – he wanted to make it up to his lover. He felt sick at the thought of Anubis touching either Mokuba or Bakura, and he wanted to murder Noa for ever starting such a twisted game.

"I wonder if Anubis will find little Mokuba? He's a very good hunter, or so he tells me. Then again, I think he might be paying more attention to your lover than _Mokie._" Noa laughed sharply. "And he claims not to be a distraction. I think Anubis would disagree."

XxXxX

Marik clutched Ryou closer and narrowed his violet eyes at the sound of footsteps heading towards them. Bakura turned to look as well, clenching his fists, but relaxed when a figure much smaller than the Lord of the Dead broke from the shadowy fog. Yugi ran over, tears streaming down from large, innocent eyes, and collapsed in Ryou's arms. The British hikari comforted the pharaoh's light, kneeling down and stroking his back as he sobbed over Anzu's sacrifice.

"Tears suit such pretty eyes." A growled voice laughed, causing everyone to spin around in shock. Anubis had carried on the way Anzu had been running, coming out behind the group when the shadow realm folded around. He stood between two half-ruined pillars, looking huge and threatening in the murky light. He was much bigger than even Marik, who took his place with Bakura in front of the others, trying to keep Anubis away from them. They were the only two who stood a chance at being able to fight Anubis, Marik knew. He was strong and Bakura was fast, if they could hold Anubis off until Seto and Yami won the shadow game then there was no need for any of the others to die. They were his family, Malik, Ryou, Otogi, Mokuba, Seto and Bakura. Yugi was a friend, even if he _was_ the pharaoh's light. The thought of Anubis laying a finger on any of them made him want to tear the sorcerer's throat out with his bare hands. The idea of him touching _Ryou…_ Marik couldn't even think about it. Nobody hurt his angel.

Over in his hiding place away to one side beneath the fallen pillars, Mokuba ducked his head down as Bakura had told him to and curled up, trembling in fear. He wasn't going to look, he trusted Bakura to know that Anubis would see him if he did. Besides, even if Anubis wouldn't see him… He wasn't going to look.

XxXxX

"Now, who first?" Anubis looked them over, taking in and savouring the looks in their eyes. He wanted the tomb robber – wanted to really make that death _last_. The others, though… An evil smirk crossed his lips as he looked over at Marik and Bakura, trying to keep themselves between him and the others. The Kaiba child wasn't there, but he could easily catch him later. After all, hiding only worked for so long.

Drawing a card from the deck at his side, Anubis held it up and watched the shadows swirl down and pick it from his fingers, swallowing it. An instant later the monsters appeared, born of the thick, black mist and lining themselves obediently up in a circle around his prey. He wanted to keep Marik and Bakura busy while he picked off the weaker ones, after all.

The creatures each carried a curved sword and had blank, featureless faces except for the eyes, which were sharp, black slits. Ryou, Yugi, and Malik huddled together with Otogi on one side and Marik and Bakura on the other, those who could fight ready to defend the others as long as they could. Malik looked over at Otogi standing alone in front of one side of the circle and broke away from Yugi and Ryou, striding forward to stand as confidently as he could with the dice player. Otogi gave him a questioning glance and he grinned shakily, lavender eyes sparkling.

"Until death do us part?" The Egyptian said, just loud enough for Otogi to hear him.

"Not even then." Otogi smirked slightly, edging just a little closer to Malik.

On the other side of the circle of monsters trapping them, Marik glanced back at Ryou to find him holding onto Yugi protectively, determined not to let any of the creatures near the smallest duellist. Turning back to Anubis, the Egyptian yami took up a fighting stance, noting from the corner of his eye that Bakura did the same. Looking over at Anubis, Marik gave a wicked, cocky grin.

"Bring it on," the tomb keeper hissed, and Anubis was more than happy to oblige.

XxXxX

The monsters were relatively weak, but there were a lot of them. Bakura and Marik easily took down a pair each with their bare hands, picking up the swords from the fallen monsters to make the battle easier. Swinging a curved sword expertly in each hand, Bakura spun around gracefully and slashed at the creatures, unnerved slightly by the fact that they made no sound when they died. The last time he'd been in such a battle had been thousands of years ago, but his skill had barely diminished since then, even with his smaller frame. He was much faster than the creatures, and he almost made killing them look easy to Ryou and Yugi, and those watching on the screens. Over in the duelling arena, Seto couldn't help but think that Bakura looked incredible with a sword in each hand, blocking glancing blows from the monsters and returning them with killing strikes, arcs of black blood cutting through the air with each one he took down. It worried Seto, because he could see the way Anubis was watching Bakura as well, his eyes following the thief as he snarled, ducking under clumsy blows and making the air sing with the sound of steel clashing.

Nearby, Marik was taking out his fair share of the monsters as well, though with less natural grace than Bakura had. He wasn't as fast as the thief, but he was much stronger. No matter how many of the creatures came at him, they couldn't hold him off for long.

Otogi and Malik were fighting on the other side of the circle, back-to-back and managing to hold the group of monsters surrounding them off for the moment. Neither of them had the skill or experience of Marik and Bakura, but they were managing, just barely. Malik was almost daring to hope they might be alright, but as he knocked away a blow and cut one of the creatures across the stomach deep enough to put it out of the fight, he felt Otogi tense against his back. He couldn't hear anything but the clashing of swords, and he couldn't turn around or he'd end up dead. There were only three creatures left on their side because most of them had gone after Marik and Bakura, but to Malik's horror one of them had bright red blood dripping from its sword. Otogi was sliding down to the ground behind him but he still couldn't turn, and he knew Otogi would never be able to hear him shouting over the noise all around them. He still tried to make Otogi hear him, tears filling his purple eyes as he felt Otogi finally fall to his knees and then forward, away from Malik's back. The Egyptian leapt forward at the last three creatures, cursing in his native tongue and earning a few cuts for his recklessness, but finally managing to take care of the last few by himself. Standing over the last one, he slowly turned around, seeing what he'd prayed he wouldn't. Otogi was on the floor in a pool of blood, his bright green eyes closed and the sword he'd been fighting with still in his hand. Running over to him, Malik dropped to his knees and felt numb tears running down his cheeks, unable to tear his eyes away from the blood spreading out from the dark line across Otogi's pale throat. The dice player's emerald eyes opened a little, managing to focus on Malik once more before they slid closed for good. Malik knew he was the last thing Otogi saw, and he wanted to scream and curse and cry but he couldn't get it to come out. He'd been with Otogi for years, they'd hardly spent any time apart and losing him was worse than dying himself. He knew he should be getting up and going over to help Marik and Bakura take care of the rest of the creatures, and he knew he should be protecting Yugi and Ryou from Anubis, but he couldn't move. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, feeling the dark presence of Anubis closing in on him but unable to make himself care. He couldn't open his eyes, even when he felt Anubis pick him up by the front of his shirt like a rag doll. He just wanted to be with Otogi, go wherever Otogi had gone. So, when a huge hand closed around his throat, crushing the golden chokers he wore easily, Malik kept his eyes closed and barely felt the sharp jerk as his neck snapped.

XxXxX

Anubis threw Malik down like a broken toy next to Otogi and listened in satisfaction as Marik screamed in agony at the loss of his light, falling to his knees. Bakura looked over and saw what had happened, snarling in rage. The thief made his way over to Marik and stood in front of the shaking yami, breathing heavily in exertion as he fought the last of the creatures off by himself and kept them away from Marik. The Egyptian yami was on his knees, his skin glowing gold and blood welling up from his fists as he dug his nails into his palms, screaming in anger and pain. The feeling of having his light ripped away from him threatened to force him down into unconsciousness, but he refused to let it, knowing even through the torture that he had to make Anubis _pay_ for Otogi and Malik. He still had people left to protect, he knew that even with the void of Malik's absence clawing at his mind. Dragging himself to his feet with his eyes glowing red and the Sennen Eye standing out brightly on his forehead, Marik snarled like an animal and turned around. He could see Anubis heading for Ryou, even through the red haze of pain, and he wasn't about to let that happen while he was still breathing.

TBC

Not much longer to go, and that was actually really hard to write! I love Malik and Otogi together, so they had to die together. Poor little catatonic Malik, I feel kinda guilty.


End file.
